


Twisted Ankles and Sore Muscles

by wubzy



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: M/M, Not Beta Read, florida wilderness do have you thinking you're gonna die, i demand more of this pairing without george, its 1am and I spent the past 4 hours writing this, loosely based off the story of dream getting lost in the woods and thinking he was gonna die, no offense xo, who the fuck do you think i am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:28:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27187279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wubzy/pseuds/wubzy
Summary: "He decided to go a hike with his friends and in an impromptu game of Truth or Dare, was told to go find a snake and bring it back to his group. Never one to turn down a challenge, he stalked off into the brush, determination fueling his muscles to march through the foreign scenery. Unfortunately for Sapnap, it was that strong determination that got him utterly and hopelessly lost in the Florida woods."
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 132





	Twisted Ankles and Sore Muscles

**Author's Note:**

> Please be aware I post online and then refuse to look at said post out of fear of people hating it so if I don't respond to your comment, I don't hate you. I just have anxiety and a fear of rejection ayo  
> @/enchantedpickaxe on tumblr (:

Birds call to one another in hopes of another answering the melodies that ooze from their thick beaks. Lead by primal instincts to carry on their legacy and demolish any organism that dares to stand in their trajectory. Like a frisbee steadily gliding through the air, their path of evolution never ends and continues with or without them. The dense forest is breathing with stages of all life: babies calling to their parents, males calling for a mate, and a prey’s final call before it succumbs to the claws of its predator. Life never stops flourishing as the plants never stop swaying, the panther never stops stalking, and the humans never stop exploring.

Sapnap waded through the tall thickets of grass at an awkward pace, pulling his legs waist high like a mom trying to teach its newborn to jaunt. Cicadas screamed their arrival into the bustling ecosystem, piercing Sapnaps ear as he tried to maneuver the landscape. His phone was low on battery and hot to the touch, burning through its last reserves to serve as some beacon of light in the setting sun. He decided to go on a hike with his friends and in an impromptu game of Truth or Dare, was told to go find a snake and bring it back to his group. Never one to turn down a challenge, he stalked off into the brush, determination fueling his muscles to march through the foreign scenery. Unfortunately for Sapnap, it was that strong determination that got him utterly and hopelessly lost in the Florida woods. 

Panting slightly from constantly having to march his way through the environment, the thought of finding a snake was far from his mind as his only focus was the get the hell out of this forest and never visit Florida again. His legs wailed in agony as they were worked in a manner that was uncommon for Sapnap. His arms were littered with mosquito bites and the various entrails of bugs he smashed against his skin. Each part of his skin was sticky and damp with sweat from the muggy atmosphere, making his attire suction to his skin. All in all, he was miserable.

The foliage that littered the floor crunched his stomping footsteps. It has been hours and Sapnap was exhausted. He felt dizzy from the small breakfast he had that morning, so his swimming vision was doing little to none to aid him in this dire situation. Despite the odds against him, he trudged forward.

After what felt like hours of hopelessly wandering the forest, fighting off insects, and dodging spiderwebs, he saw the best thing he has seen all day. Flattened grass and dirt. He stumbled upon a trail. A weak smile stretched across his face as a tired laugh escaped his stagnant lips. He dragged his feet towards the clearing and tiredly spread his arms in a victory stance, gaining the attention of the fauna within the vicinity. Sapnap bent over, placing his hands on his knees and gulped down huge breaths of air. He watched sweat drip off his nose and splatter onto the ground below him in a trance, his thoughts finally leaving the dim track they were steadily strolling on. After a minute or two of gathering his thoughts, he straightened his back and continued further down the trail, his determination fighting its way to the front lines again.

Sapnaps phone vibrated in his slippery hand and he glanced down just to see it power off and turn back. While without a way to contact anyone, his worry did not falter as the trail had given him newfound confidence. He stuffed the phone in his pocket and when his head focused on the trail ahead of him, if he squinted his eyes just enough and leaned forward with his mouth agape, he could make out a wooden sign. No, a wooden sign with markers and a billboard that had a map attached to it. He gave a whispered ‘yes’ as that was all he could muster, and painfully jogged to the wooden post.

Once Sapnap had made it to the post, he had half the mind to give it a sloppy kiss but decided against it. Some part of his mind was still intact. The map indicated he was on ‘Eagles Trail’, about four miles away from the park entrance. He haphazardly scanned his memory and was able to retrace his steps, letting him backpedal and find out where he had left his friends to wander. ‘Armadillo Alley’ was where they should be, about a three-mile distance away. The trail he was on now looped back around the trail he last saw his friends, meaning he would not have to turn around. Thank God. After one more internal picture of the map, he continued his trek, his strides stronger and confident again.

As Sapnap walked along the path, he heard something. Now he could have easily ignored the sound because hey, he was in a forest. Whole place has been yelling ever since he stepped foot in it. But the noise was different. It was human and it was a human in distress. He stopped walked and listened closely to the air around him, trying the carefully drown out the sounds of the animals around him. After a few moments, he heard it again.

“Help! Please someone! Anyone! Help!” A desperate voice rang throughout the forest, sending shivers down Sapnaps spine.

“Hello”, Sapnap hollered back, “Who is it? Where are you?” He waited with his ears focus on any small sound that entered his eardrums, ignoring the mosquitoes taking advantage of his still nature and taking nutrients from his body. 

“Hello! I’m here, I’m over here! Please!” The disembodied voice wailed with a shaky voice, most likely relieved someone had found them. Sapnap noted that it sounded like a young male, possibly around the same age as him. He sounded weak and out of breath, like he had been calling for help for hours. Sapnap yelled back that he was on his way, and to continue talking so he could follow the unidentified man’s voice. He cut through the foliage of the forest, pushing leaves out of his way and narrowly dodging spiders and other small critters that were shocked as a possible predator came barreling towards them. The voice started to get weaker and quieter, reminding Sapnap that he was on a time crunch. He had to reach this person and fast. He ran through the forest, screaming for the person to keep talking, please for the love of God, don’t ever stop talking. Finally, after one last push of twigs and leaves, he came across another trail. 

A river cut across the landscape, momentarily leaving Sapnap stunned on why he had not heard the rushing water before. A low riding wooden bridge was built across the stream for hikers to pass and hanging from that bridge was a man. He had dirty blonde hair and was donning a lime green hoodie. His lower body was submerged in the rushing water as his arms were slowly losing grip on the wood. His face was littered with scratches and blood was protruding from a deep slash across the man’s forehead, allowing blood to drop into the mans eye, which was squeezed shut.  
Sapnap rushed over to the man and kneeled next to the river.

“Here, grab my hand and I can pull you out.” Sapnap outstretched his palm for the man to grab but he was met with a frantic ‘no’. 

“You can’t! I’ve tried. Fuck, I’ve tried! My foot! It-it’s like stuck in the mud and my shoelace is hooked onto a branch and I can’t pull it out.” The man was freaking out, his pupils dilated to all hell as he feverishly looked around before landing on Sapnap’s eyes. A broken ‘please’ was whispered as the mans grip started to fail, and he began to slip further into the rushing water. 

“Fuck. Fuck. Okay, here, just, just grab my hand, okay? I got you. That’s it, you’re alright. I’ll help you.” Fuck. Sapnap didn’t know what to do. He hurriedly glanced around them, finding absolutely nothing to help him in this situation. Fuck. A whimper emitted from the man besides him and Sapnap’s heart was beating painfully in his chest. He needed to do something, holy shit, needed to do something, anything.  
“Okay, okay. I’ve got an idea, okay? You just have to promise me to hold on as tightly as you can. Don’t let go. I’m going to get you out of this.” At least he hopes. The man in question nodded and scrunched his face in concentration, putting the rest of his energy into holding on to the damp wood. Without hesitation, Sapnap yanked off his shoes and stepped into the river.

Sapnap was immediately almost knocked into the current. His restabled himself, slicing the bottom of his foot on a sharp rock. Grimacing at the sting in his foot, he slowly waded forward. After mental preparation, he took a gulp of air and submerged himself under the water. Eyes open, he zoned into the man’s swollen foot tangled in a mess of vegetation. He spotted a large branch stuck under the water and let the current glide him closer towards the man. He grabbed onto the branch before drifting away too far and worked to tie his own shoelace to the branch. It was loose and wouldn’t hold for long, but neither would Sapnap. His chest had already started to burn from the lack of oxygen, and he knew he didn’t have a lot of time left. He twisted his body and grabbed the man’s leg. He expected him to kick in retaliation, but the man kept his leg still, almost like he had no energy to fight off any predator in the water. And he didn’t.

Sapnap got to work untangling the shoelace that was tangled in some kind of moss or grass, working frantically as he started to get dizzy from holding his breath for this long. His eyes never strayed from his task at hand, intent on freeing the man. After ripping clumps of weed after weed after weed, the shoelace was untangled. Sapnap slid his shoe off his foot and immediately darted for the surface of the water, his arms and legs kicking with everything he had left in him.

He broke through the water with a gasp and held onto the side of the bridge as he coughed, welcoming the burn as oxygen rushed into his lungs once more. Regaining his focus, he dragged himself out of the water and onto the bridge. With his last ounce of strength, he hefted the man onto the bridge, where he collapsed next to Sapnap. 

Both men took their time grounding themselves. Sapnap because he felt like he was going to die, and the man because he was certain he was going to die. Ten minutes went by before the silence was broken.

“Thank you. Thank you so fucking much for that. I-I swear I was going to die. I had already said my goodbyes in my head and everything, man. So, thank you.”

“Kind of dramatic, but okay.” Sapnap’s eyes instantly bulged in his head as he turned to the man laying next to him with an eyebrow cocked. “Not like you don’t have a right to be dramatic, because you do! I mean, god knows how long you were there and I, just, I meant, yeah, okay sorry, I’ll shut up.” The silence stretched on.

“So,” Sapnap started, “What’s your name? I usually go by Sapnap.”

“I go by Dream.”

“That’s a stupid name.” Sapnap snorted.

“And Sapnap is just fantastic, isn’t it?” The man, Dream, sarcastically drawled, the eyeroll thick in the words he spoke.

“Hey, that fantastic name just saved your ass.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it did.” Dream delicately exclaimed. Sapnap cleared his throat as he felt his face warm up. He sat up and stretched, cracking his back with a satisfied groan. He turned to look at Dream still laying on the bridge intently watching him, eyes unwavering. Sapnap stared back and took in the features of the man face. While an average looking man, something about his seemed unique to Sapnap. Something he didn’t want to let go. With a small smile, Sapnap pulled himself up.

“Ready to get the hell out of here?”

“Gonna help me? Ankle is a little fucked.” They both glanced down at Dreams swollen left ankle. It was an unnatural purple color, twisted at an odd angle with his bone poking his skin in a position that was not common. With a nod, Sapnap held out his hand and clasped it with Dreams. He hauled him up and held onto his waist as he swayed in his spot. Ignoring the blush growing on his face, Sapnap placed the taller man’s arm around his shoulders and together, they slowly hobbled towards the park exit.

It was well past dark by the time they began to see the headlights of people leaving through the gates of the park. Their quiet hobbling was interrupted as two groups of people came rushing towards them. One group included Sapnaps friends and the other included two women, one older and one around their age. Both groups had sick, worried expressions etched on their faces which only grew as they took in the state of the boys. 

Sapnap carefully shimmied Dream into the hold on the older woman who held onto him tightly, checking his body for cuts and scrapes. His gaze was interrupted as one of his friends hit him in the shoulder. They started yelling at him in anger, telling him they were worried sick and thought he had been brutally murdered. Despite the tense situation, Sapnap giggled at his friends worries and confirmed that he was alive and unfortunately, did not capture a live snake. During his berating, Dream was being led away by the two women. Sapnap does not know what made him yell after him, but he couldn’t take it back after dream swiveled his head and landed his two green eyes on Sapnaps. He stumbled.

“I, uh, I just wanted to say I’m glad you’re okay. You weren’t in a good position.”

“No, I wasn’t. So, thank you again for finding me when you did.” Dream had a small smile on his face, which Sapnap reciprocated. A blush was present of both the boys faces as both groups gave each other knowing glances.

“Oh, for fucks sake, here.” One of Sapnaps friend handed Dream a torn slip of paper that had Sapnaps number written on it in messy scrawl. Sapnap was too embarrassed to question why his friend had a slip of paper with his phone number on it, and just watched with blown eyes as Dream shakily accepted the slip, as he was still low on energy. He turned and gave Sapnap a smile.

“I’ll text you later, yeah?”

“Yeah. Later.” Sapnap watched as the two women helped Dream limp back to a black van and placed him in the back seat. As the car drove out of the park gates, the backseat window was rolled down and a weak hand along with Dreams wide grin could be seen as he waved goodbye. Sapnap waved back in a haze. Maybe Florida wasn’t that bad.

“Sapnap, where’s your shoe?”


End file.
